An Eruptive Vent

Imagine if confetti, rather than lava, erupted from volcanoes. Or, even better, candy — like a naturally occurring pinata!

I still have a child’s fascination with volcanoes and tidal waves.

A few posts back, a commenter mentioned her young sons’ current interest in dinosaurs. It’s universal, isn’t it, the way children gravitate toward the same awesome/scary/gruesome things between the ages of 7-12:

dinosaurs/alligators/boa constrictors,

volcanoes/tidal waves/tornadoes,

smallpox/ebola,

and the least predictable of all, spontaneous combustion.

Were you fixated on any/all of these as a child?

Do you see where I am coming from?

Thinking deeply about candy volcanoes, not pyroclastic surges

The Photographer and I visited Naples several years ago, and upon returning home watched a documentary on how utterly unprepared Naples and the surrounding region are for the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.

Here’s the takeaway: If you are visiting Naples and experience any seismic tremors, go back to your hotel, pack your bag, and leave immediately. Do not wait for a second sign.

For your consideration, here is an achievable idea. A cozy, off-the-shoulder sweater with something unexpected and fun emerging from it.

You haven’t seen this twisted turtleneck for a while. For those who’ve forgotten it entirely, here is a refresher.

Candy volcano is not a viable type of geo-engineering

Come closer and delight in this madcap stripe.

It may not be noticeable here, but the striped jersey has asymmetrical capped sleeves. On one side, this layering creates the world’s tiniest cold shoulder effect which I actually think is charming — though I am not generally a huge fan of that cut.

Delight away! Tiny sliver of exposed skin is on my right shoulder

An off-the-shoulder sweater is very effective with a severe white blouse or asymmetrical jersey underneath it. I thought this sweater would also be pretty with this red blouse.

11 thoughts on “An Eruptive Vent”

I had forgotten all about the weirdy-green twisted madcap sweater! What a fun volcano. I wish I worked in your office just so I could be immediately cheered up whenever I caught sight of you wearing happy outfits like this one.

OK, this post reminds me of Candytopia! In case you have not heard of it yet, here’s a great summary, including the item that triggered my mental connections — the pig that f*rts confetti. Yes, it’s a child’s dream — and you might love it, too, given your first and second sentences!

If you have any free time, I recommend watching “Iron Ladies” on Netflix. It’s a Mandarin programme and I think you’d enjoy the style of the main character. Lots of interesting shapes/layering/colour. 🙂

The turtleneck is divine! The stripes such a perfect, unusual colour combo, and the design so seemingly simple yet so intriguing. I’d really like to use your handwritten pattern and give it a go with a knit remnant to see if it can be replicated.

This would be an excellent public service to all Directrice readers, Shopgrrrl, and if you find the time to experiment, I hope you will share your results. You could write a DIY guest post! To aid you in your efforts, here are the measurements: width is 19″, length is 29.5″, the stitching separating the giant head column from the arm column is 7″ long. The armhole starts 14″ from the top of the garment and is 3″ in circumference. On my turtleneck, the armhole is a banded circle rather than a slit – but I think a simple slit opening in the side seam would do the trick — but it would need to be more like 5″ long. Let us know how it goes!

I love the look, but doesn’t the stripey sweater feel weird and twisted to wear? I can’t imagine that with the other sweater over the top – does it require constant adjustment to be comfortable? I love it though!!

A fair question, Amy — but it does not feel weird or twisty. It’s a very soft fabric and it feels kind of luxe to have an abundance of it wrapping around me. The off-the-shoulder sweater does need periodic adjustment — that giant cuff tends to ride up and rest on my shoulder bones, but I think that’s a nice look, too.